Mythbusting 5 Facts About LED Lights
We’ve learnt a lot about LED lighting in the last 10 years and want to share 5 common misunderstandings about them.
1. All LED's are equal - False
When choosing an LED lamp look for these 3 key factors to differentiate quality:
- CRI 80 or greater
- Power Factor 0.75 or greater
- Lifespan 20,000hr or greater
Our LED Back-lit & Front-lit mirror ranges pair a high quality LED driver from Meanwell with Spazio strip lights to create a long lasting system.
2. LED lamps don't create heat - False
Not only do they generate heat but their lifespan is directly related to their ability to maintain a stable temperature. Operating an LED light in direct sunlight or in an enclosed space will greatly reduce its lifespan.
3. 10,000hr = 10yr guarantee - False
Promises of long lifespans are commonplace on all LED lamps packaging, but the calculation used to convert hours to years is often unrealistic. When comparing 2 different lights look for a direct comparison of hours to hours or years to years.
4. A 10W LED always uses 10W power - False
In lighting the term Power Factor describes the electrical efficiency of a lamp. Poor quality LED lamps can have a Power Factor as low as 0.5 which would mean that the lamp uses double its advertised power! Look for a Power Factor of 0.75 and greater when choosing lamps.
5. Replace ALL your lights now and save - False
Before replacing every light in your home or project with a new LED lamp, take note of existing CFL lamps which are still running. These CFL lamps have a high efficiency fairly close to LED's and should be used swapped out only at the end of their lifespan.
We've sourced the highest quality LED components to use in all Arkivio light fittings, and we stand by our 5 year guarantees on all our LED lighting products.